Korean baker sets up shop in Paris

IT MAY look like many other smart boulangeries in France, but the new Paris Baguette Chatelet, close to Notre Dame and the Louvre, is a first.

Paris Baguette is a well-known bakery chain in South Korea, but - after expanding into China, America, Vietnam and Singapore - the company has made its first foray into France.

The first French Paris Baguette, which is owned by Korean food and confectionary conglomerate SPC Group opened its doors - appropriately enough in Paris - on Wednesday.

“We regard France as the spiritual home of our bakery products,” SPC Group chairman Hur Young-in told the Korea Herald.

“The opening of our Paris store highlights our commitment to continually improving and perfecting the quality of our European-style bread and pastries,” he said.

The Paris Baguette Chatelet store is set to be the chain’s global flagship with the brand’s owners, SPC Group, hoping it will be a stepping stone for further expansion into the country, as well as other European markets and Canada.

Customers can expect the usual array of bread, patisserie and sandwiches, as well as exclusive chiffon cakes and stuffed breads.

It is a member of the Chambre Professionnelle des Artisans Boulangers Patissiers, which requires all members to adhere to traditional baking standards.

The first Paris Baguette opened in South Korea in 1988. It now has more than 3,000 stores in the country, as well as 125 in China, 37 in the US, 11 in Vietnam, six in Singapore - and now one in France.

Photo: Christian Mange